Bournemouth vs Arsenal. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats and more
Bournemouth will host Arsenal in the English Premier League third-tour match at the Vitality Stadium. The fixture will take place on August 20, beginning at 22:00 IST.
Parimatchnews will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.
Bournemouth News & Current Form:
After five consecutive seasons in the Elite, Bournemouth fell into a definite crisis and headed to the Championship for a ‘purification’. And now, after two seasons, the Cherries are back in the EPL having earned straight promotion, scoring 88 points with a GD of +35. The gap from the leader was only two points.
Scott Parker’s team distinguished themselves not only by their solid defence (39 conceded in 46 games – the best record in the Championship), but also by their productive play in the last third. The players took 12.6 shots per game (4.7 of them on target), which resulted in 74 goals.
The Red-Blacks have a lot of talented players, for example, Chelsea academy product Dominic Solanke who scored 36 points in the goal+pass system (29+7). To have such a potent weapon in your pocket is a great asset.
Scott Parker, despite having a fairly strong squad, works actively with his colleagues in the transfer market, adeptly aware of the realities of the Premier League, specifically its competitiveness. The Cherries have so far acquired centre-back Marcos Senesi for €15.00m and left midfielder Marcus Tavernier.
What’s more, there have been some good free transfers: Neto, Ryan Fredericks and Joe Rotwell. Among the departures of Robbie Brady and Gary Cahill are noticeable. The experienced defender, who played 22 games last season, may be missed a lot this season. However, a replacement has been found already, there is only hope for quick integration.
In the EPL, the Poppies stick to a 3-4-2-1 formation and play second best, controlling the ball on average only 33.8% of game time. In the 1st leg, the Cherries defeated Aston Villa 2-0. In the next meeting – against the reigning English champions – Scott Parker’s defence failed a crash test, conceding four unanswered goals. It seems that the upcoming match does not bode well either.
Arsenal News & Current Form:
Arsenal have had an excellent start to the season, now sharing first place with Manchester City after two games. First, there came a difficult match at Selhurst Park 0-2.
As it turns out, Crystal Palace appears to be the dark horse so far, as in the next round they almost beat Liverpool at a resounding Anfield. After that match, the residual scepticism about Arsenal’s hard-fought win fell away.
Next in line was a very goal-packed game against Leicester City (4-2), remarkably, for every goal conceded, the Gunners needed less than two minutes to regain their comfortable lead. That speaks volumes about the toughened mentality of the youngest team in the EPL, the improved focus and concentration that was so lacking at some points last season.
This year, according to technical director Edu Gaspar, will be a pivotal one that will mark the success of the five-year project. And at the moment, it seems we haven’t seen a stronger Arsenal in recent years. All the pieces of the puzzle are coming together – and we are very happy with the picture. One of the most important parts is the club’s transfer policy. And so far, Arsenal’s current summer campaign has been very impressive.
The management, led by Josh Kroenke, have impeccable faith in the Spanish specialist and are putting something great together brick by brick. So far €130m has been spent, at the same time some undemanded players have left: some sold, some on loan. Offloading the wage bill and allowing players to get game experience is a vital job, which doesn’t always come into the spotlight for the fans. And as Arteta said, the arrivals and departures don’t end there, with the transfer deadline coming up in just under two weeks.
“It has to be the right person, and it has to be the right player. We want to only bring top quality through that door, otherwise, it’s not worth it.”
Mikel remarked.
Among the latest news: the departure of Nicolas Pepe to Nice on loan is expected. The acquisition of a new winger depends on that.
Now let’s talk about the tactical pattern and numbers.
The Cannoneers are sticking with the 4-2-3-1 scheme at the start of the season, which smoothly evolves into the 4-3-3. In contrast to last season, the Red&Whites have improved their attacking metrics, with Mikel Arteta’s charges averaging 14.5 shots on goal in the opening period, including 4.5 on target (fifth best in the league). The team’s mobility and the versatility of Gabriel Jesus led to a noticeable improvement in attacking performance. The Brazilian has already scored two goals and two assists. And this is just the start of the season. Particularly evident was his first goal – it was exactly what the Londoners lacked in recent years, a clinical finisher. The player literally transformed the attacking picture of the team, virtually from the start linking with core attackers.
It is impossible not to mention the game of the defence, with William Saliba making a very good impression by being cold-blooded on the ball and remaining composed in challenges. With a little more experience gained in the opening games, he will literally cement the Arsenal defence.
His auto-goal should be seen as this mistake, which will only shake up the ego and serve as a lesson to the 21-year-old Frenchman, accelerating his maturing.
“You can see how… he looks like he is 30. He has the discipline and big character. He is not so loud but he is a proper leader in my eyes. You can see he is amazing. He has a lot of quality and yeah, we forget the own goal because for 90 minutes he had a great, great game.”
says Xhaka.
Ben White is also worth mentioning, as he has adapted well to playing right-back, especially notable is his confident performance against very agile dribbler Wilfried Zaha in the first match.
Another newcomer, Oleksandr Zinchenko, also deserves particular praise for his ability to transform the left-wing attack in addition to his defensive role. The Ukrainian has been a constant contributor to the team’s offensive efforts, overloading the left flank and acting as a ‘false’ central midfielder.
After two rounds, Mikel Arteta’s side have two conceded goals – only three clubs have conceded less. This marks a combined impact of the players above.
Interestingly, with the former Man City player, the Zinchenko-Martinell-Xhaka triangle turned into a real threat. Interestingly, Granit Xhaka is given much more freedom, which he takes advantage of by suddenly breaking into the penalty area and taking shots on target, the Swiss is very difficult to manage due to the unreal amount of work done on the wing by Martinell-Zinchenko which grabs all attention of defenders. And let’s not forget about Jesus’ intensive runs, on which defenders keep their focus. It’s similar to the pattern of Pep Guardiola teams, a kind of ‘controlled chaos’ where the threat can come from anyone. Fábio Vieira was probably bought for this model, as he can be much more of a problem in attack at the position of Granit.
It is also worth mentioning Kieran Tierney and Tekehiro Tomiyasu who have recovered from injuries. The competition for the starting line-up will boost the players’ development, and their availability also gives more variability and flexibility, given the recent introduction of five substitutions.
Bournemouth form guide: W-L
Arsenal form guide: W-W
Bournemouth vs Arsenal Head-To-Head Record:
| Bournemouth | Draw | Arsenal |
| 1 | 2 | 8 |
Bournemouth vs Arsenal Predicted XI:
Bournemouth possible starting lineup (3-4-2-1): Travers; Lerma, Senesi, Kelly; Smith, Cook, Billing, Zemura; Tavernier, Moore, Solanke.
Arsenal possible starting lineup (4-3-3): Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Thomas, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Jesus.
Statistical preview of the match Bournemouth vs Arsenal:
- Bournemouth have conceded in 21 of the last 23 Premier League home games.
- Bournemouth have scored less than 1.5 goals in each of their last 5 home games against Arsenal.
- Arsenal have scored less than 2.5 goals in 7 of the last 8 Premier League away games.
- Arsenal have conceded in 11 of the last 12 Premier League away games.
- Arsenal have won the first half in five of their last six games.
- Arsenal have scored at least 2 goals in their last 7 games.
What has been said before the match:
Scott Parker, the AFC Bournemouth gaffer:
“What Mikel has done in a short space of time is fantastic. The progression they’ve made in terms of signings has enhanced them even more. They will be right up there this season. We have a big challenge ahead of us. They’re a good team and a very technical team all over the pitch. We’ll try and make it uncomfortable as much as we can at Vitality Stadium while being aware of the challenges that we’re going to face.
“They’re heading in the right direction and they’re a team on the upward curve. There’s a philosophy around what they’ve done and I see them improving drastically. Gabriel Jesus is a brilliant signing. Mikel had him as a player at Manchester City and he’s a top forward, he has everything to his game as a number nine. It’s a real challenge for us to try and keep him quiet.”
Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal gaffer:
“It’s great to win and perform the way we are performing at the moment, but it’s just two games, we have a whole season ahead of us. Let’s focus on the next match and what we have to do and the areas where we can improve.”
“It will be a really tough match. I’ve been there many, many times, I know how tough it is, and I know to expect the atmosphere to be hectic. It’s a team that is used to winning because last year they had a really successful season, and they’ve started well this season.”
“I know Scott Parker very, very well and I know they’re going to make it a really difficult game for us. I think it’s a good mixture between what Bournemouth used to do and what Scott is as a manager, and I think he has evolved the team in a really positive way. They have a really clear idea of how they want to play, a very clear identity as well and they execute that against any opponent and credit to them for what they’re doing.”
Bournemouth vs Arsenal Prediction:
Arsenal have the easiest calendar at the start of the season of any of the top six sides, they will use it to cement themselves at the top of the table and get the momentum they need ahead of the tough games ahead. Slippage in such matches is unacceptable.
Londoners outclass Bournemouth and they should have no trouble in the upcoming match. Having tempered their character last season as a team, the players know how to handle it and Mikel Arteta will aim to decide the outcome of the game already in the first half. The Londoners will be planning a ‘Blitzkrieg’, much like they did at Crystal Palace. And there is a good chance that this tactic will work with teams unused to the level of the EPL, not exactly calibrating their style to stronger opponents.
Parimatch News staff prediction:
We say: Arsenal to win the first half – Yes.